News Summary (PAR, DELL, HPQ, C)

Shares of 3Par Inc PAR dropped about 2% after Dell Inc DELL raised its bid for PAR to $24.30 per share in cash. The offer by DELL beats the bid of Hewlett-Packard HPQ, which offered $24 per share for 3Par. Dell had earlier offered $18 per share to buy PAR. Energy stocks gained after the Labor Department reported a decline in weekly jobless claims. The NYSE Arca Oil Index (XOI) rose about 0.6%, while the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index (XNG) moved up about 0.8%. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index (OSX) also rose about 0.8%. Financial shares are trading up, with Citigroup Inc C as the top performer among the bank stocks in the S&P 500 Index. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) rose about 0.59%. The stocks moved up the report of a higher-than-expected fall in weekly initial jobless claims. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.